The Beauty of Peace

Sermon Transcript:

(transcribed with AI)

Promontory Community Church exists to make disciples of Jesus who know, live, and share the gospel for the glory of God.

Thank you, worship team for opening all of our hearts the opportunity to worship. To see God in a new way. And that's our prayer every Sunday here is that as we are here, as we open our hearts to God's word, as we just open our hearts to him, that we leave here different people. We leave here people who have experienced God, who have met with God, and whose faith has increased.

Good morning. My name is Rich Koppey. I'm the community life pastor here at Promontory. And this morning it's my privilege to speak to you from God's word.

Do you realize that what we hold in our hands here is actually an ancient book. It was written over a period of 1500 years, the first books of the Old Testament dating back to around 1400 BC, with the final writings in the New Testament being completed near the end of the 1st century. But instead of this book being a relic — something that you go and put into a museum or maybe put on a shelf at home — instead of this book being a musty old story of bygone days with no relevance for today, it's this book that brings us an ancient and beautiful message. Of a God who created us. A God who loves us. A God whose Son died on the cross, that we could be forgiven, that we could have new life, eternal life. A God who promises to be with us. To help us as we live our lives for him.

And it's this book that speaks to us about some of the greatest concerns and fears that humanity struggles with. And this morning, it's this book that's going to speak to us again. This time about the beauty of peace. And how to find it in a world of strife. A world where our hearts are smothered with anxiety.

Georgia Cinnamon, one of the world's most prolific writers, having written over 406 novels, at the age of 66, wrote:

I have only one ambition left. To be completely at peace with myself. I doubt I shall ever manage it. I do not think it's possible for anyone.

Peace. That deep sense of calm and contentment, that feeling of well-being. Is it even possible? In a pressure cooker world where our tempers flare, our stomachs churn, and our hearts break.

According to Mental Health Research Canada, 1 in 4 Canadians will receive a lifetime diagnosis of anxiety. That includes some of us here. That includes some of your friends and family, some of your neighbors. We know the struggles of mental health issues. We're aware of the stressors that can make or break us. Is peace even possible?

When we consider the five most common mental health issues which Canadians wrestle with — stress, relationship challenges, depression, anxiety, poor self-esteem — it seems that inner peace is in rather short supply, wouldn't you say? Among working age adults, mental health challenges are often connected with work stress, with caregiving responsibilities, with economic pressures. As people age, it's loneliness and chronic disease which frequently shape mental health outcomes. And where do we turn in the face of all that? And what help does this old book have to give us?

You realize, of course, that mental health — referring to the state of your psychological and emotional well-being and its effect on how you feel, how you think, how you act — and mental illness, dealing with, amongst other things, clinically diagnosable conditions such as depression or anxiety or schizophrenia. You realize that these terms are never once found in this book. What help is it going to give us? And yet God has so much to say about how to deal with stress and relationships and anxiety and depression and self-esteem. And that's what we're going to look at this morning as we turn to Philippians chapter 4.

The recipients of this letter were trying to make a difference for Christ as they lived in Philippi. In a world at that time that was cold to Christianity, they were trying to take a stand for their faith. They were a small group, but their influence spread beyond the borders of their town in ancient Greece. In many ways, they were spiritual giants of their time. And yet they still struggled with that human side of our nature that seems to trip us up. There was an undercurrent of bickering, of complaining when the believers got together. Joy, peace — it didn't seem to be very prevalent in their gatherings and quite possibly not even in their lives.

The apostle Paul himself is facing his own crisis as he sits in a prison cell, knowing that any day could be his last. Stress. Relationship challenges, depression, anxiety. They're part of life. I'm pretty sure most of us here know them all too well firsthand. But 2000 years ago, that is why the apostle Paul picked up a pen and began writing words that would help his friends and you and me today to find greater peace in the midst of struggles. And to nurture a confidence in God that would guard our hearts during the storms.

Please stand if you're able to as we honor God's word and as we read from Philippians chapter 4, the first 9 verses. As we do, I'm going to encourage you to be on the lookout for the advice that Paul gives to his friends and to us today about what it takes to find peace during the storms of life.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone, the Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Lord, many of us need to find peace in our hearts and lives. We struggle with it every day. For some of us, depression is a cloud that hangs over our heads, or anxiety is a fear that wrestles in our hearts. Lord, we need to find peace. Open our hearts today to what your word says and help us to respond to it. Amen.

Please be seated.

Let's walk through these verses and see what Paul has to say about finding peace. Verse one begins:

Therefore my brothers and sisters whom I love and long for.

Paul's love for his friends here in Philippi is so obvious. It permeates the entire letter. If you read the letter you're going to see it expressed time and again. And these are not just members of his church — they're his joy, they're his crown. When Paul stands before God on that final day, he won't be pointing to his bank balance or his big house in order to try to impress the Almighty. When Paul stands before God, he's going to be pointing to his friends, friends that came to Christ because of his ministry. As Paul puts it in chapter 2 of Philippians:

Then I will be able to boast in Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

All the sacrifices Paul made as an apostle of Christ, even the state execution that he would ultimately face because of his faith, it will all be worth it when Paul sees his friends standing next to him around God's throne.

What gave Paul the courage, the inspiration, the joy to keep going in the face of all the struggles and discouragements and persecution he faced in life? It was knowing that his life was making an eternal difference. The first thing that we can learn from Paul about peace is that living for something that matters even beyond the grave gives us purpose. And it gives us joy. It's a reason to get up every morning. It's a reason to make whatever sacrifices are necessary as we serve God.

How about you? Is that your attitude? Is that what you're living for — to make an eternal difference in the lives of your friends, your children, those that you work with or go to school with? If it is, I have to be honest, sometimes there are going to be days when you try to live that way and you're going to feel like throwing in the towel. As a pastor, I knew I was in one of those days when I would find myself starting to look at want ads and trying to figure out if there was anything else I could do with my life. And yet knowing that your life matters, knowing that Christ is in you and that through you he is making an eternal difference in the world around you — that gives you a lot of reason to keep going. That's how you find joy and a sense of meaning and a reason for your life.

Therefore my brothers and sisters whom I love and long for, my joy and crown. Stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Those last words give us a picture. Can you see him? The Roman guard standing at his post, resolute, steadfast — almost like the British ones who won't move, not willing to run no matter what danger was coming his way.

Do you realize that if you've put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you're in a battle? Paul talks about it in Ephesians 6:

We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Now, that doesn't mean that every struggle you have in maintaining your mental health or dealing with mental illness is because of some spiritual attack. Don't give the devil that much credit. There are plenty of reasons that you could be experiencing depression or fear or worry or a multitude of other peace-robbing emotions. And yet when you are struggling, it doesn't hurt to follow David's example in the Old Testament. When we read in Psalm 139 how he prayed from the bottom of his heart:

Search me, oh God. Search me and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any grievous way in me, if there's any area of my life, God, where I'm out of bounds with where you want me to be. And lead me in the way everlasting.

As a Christ follower, we're in a battle, and in that battle we are called to stand firm in the Lord. One of the ways that we do that is by keeping a pure heart, confessing our sins to God. How does that help? It gives you the confidence and peace of knowing that you're doing what's right and that God is on your side.

And then Paul goes on. He talks about another battle. We read in verses 2 and 3:

I entreat Euodia, I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life.

We don't know much about these two ladies. What we do know is that they didn't seem to be able to get along. What their fight was about, who knows? But it's quite obvious what that fight was doing to them was pretty bad. Here's why Paul had to figuratively step in between them and separate them, even calling upon another Christian to help these two ladies to find peace.

But why is peace between believers that important? Why does Paul urge his friends in Rome to:

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

The answer is that we need each other. In our spiritual journey, I need you. You need me.

Some years ago I went through a rather dark time in my life and in my ministry. Stress, relationship challenges, depression, anxiety, self-esteem — these big five mental health issues. I knew them firsthand and they were crippling me. I thought moving to a new church in Kitchener from Richmond would fix things. It didn't. After my office administrator would leave for the day, I would sit in my office and cry. It got so bad that our district superintendent took my wife and myself out for dinner to talk about the situation. He even offered to keep my guns until I felt better — don't worry, I'm an American. And he recommended that I see a doctor, a doctor who specialized in working with pastors and missionaries. I went, he prescribed an antidepressant which I took for several months, and things slowly got better.

But it was during that time that I was so impressed with my need for others. There were those who cared for me, those whom I trusted, those with whom I could open up and share my feelings and struggles without feeling judgment or hearing platitudes. Even after we moved from Richmond to Kitchener, they would still call practically every week to see how I was doing and to assure my wife and myself of their prayers for us. And that meant a lot. Those prayers literally held me up during this time when I was so gutted that I could barely pray for myself. I learned that I need others. I need brothers and sisters in Christ who would pray, who would challenge me, who would encourage me. And so do you.

Lone Ranger Christianity — the idea that we can live out our faith all by ourselves, that we don't need the help of anyone else, we can do it alone — it may sound bold, it might sound macho or independent, but all it really does is make you more vulnerable to Satan's attacks. Here's why the enemy of our soul is so eager to sow strife amongst believers. Euodia and Syntyche were not the exception in having antagonistic relationships. That's why Paul addresses this problem head on — it's because we need each other.

And then as he goes into this next command Paul gives us about finding peace, I need to warn you — it's going to sound a little strange. Look at verse 4:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice.

Maybe he's repeating this because he knows how ridiculously impossible it sounds. Again, I will say rejoice. Remember, Paul is writing this while sitting in a jail cell with a threat of an execution order hanging over his head. Where's the joy in that? And for that matter, where's the joy in being in a church where people are fighting and complaining? How do you find peace? How do you find well-being in those circumstances?

Paul is not appealing to your natural optimism. He's not telling you to fake it till you make it. He's not trying to say don't worry, be happy. He's not suggesting just do this on your good days. He's telling his friends, he's telling us: rejoice in the Lord always — in the worst day of your life, rejoice.

As you look at that verse, can you guess what the most critical words are? The ones that give us the only reason there can be for Paul to say this with a straight face? Three words: in the Lord. It's only because we are Christ's followers. It's only because we are in Christ and Christ is in us. That is the only reason we can respond with joy, even in the worst of situations.

Happiness in life is dependent on your circumstances. It's a beautiful day, you feel great, you're going on vacation, you've had a great meal — life is wonderful. But we all know that circumstances can totally change in a moment. That's why joy is so important. Joy is grounded upon something far more dependable than fickle circumstances. True joy comes from our relationship with God and our trust in him.

Let me be quick to explain. True joy doesn't mean that I'm happy when bad things happen or tragedy strikes. It does mean though that I am choosing to rest my life, my family, my business, my finances, my health in God's hands, and I'm choosing to trust that he's in control.

I need to pause for a moment. It's confession time, at least for me. Turning to God and trusting him often is not my first reaction when troubles come. Maybe that's the same for you. It takes me a while before I can get there and finally leave matters in God's hands. I still need to grow. I need to mature in this part of my life. And as I do, the peace which God gives is amazing.

Here's how we can have — and why we can have — that peace. Verses 4 and 5:

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.

The word "reasonableness" in the Greek means gentleness and is actually literally closer to justice — something better than justice. Take a look at those last five words: the Lord is at hand. It's telling us we're not alone in this battle. Finding peace, finding an inner calm, is not something that we can do all by ourselves, and that's why God is there to help us. As we're told in Isaiah 26:

You, God, keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

In other words, he's dependable. As a result of his presence and our choice to trust in him:

We don't have to be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, we can let our requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and it will guard our minds in Christ Jesus.

What an invitation, and it's coming from our Father himself. Life is filled with uncertainties, we know that. We're not guaranteed that we're going to have a happy tomorrow. But we don't have to be fearful, we don't have to be afraid when we bring our needs and our worries to our Father.

And when you do that, look at the promise that comes with this offer. Look at verse 7:

And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.

Literally, what that means is the peace which rises above every mind. Engage every ability that you have to try to grasp what this peace of God is and how great it is, and you're going to fail. You won't be able to wrap your mind around it. It is that great. And this peace will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God's peace stands guard over our heart and mind as we lean on him in faith. I've found that to be true many times in my life. When I finally get to that point of turning to God and leaning on him in my struggles, in the midst of all the ups and downs of life, we can choose peace as we bring our worries and our fears to our Heavenly Father in prayer. And we can fill our hearts, as Paul tells us here, with thanksgiving — for who he is, for what he has done. Wow, that's a faith builder.

And then there's one more thing about maintaining that peace and well-being in our hearts and minds, which Paul talks to us about. And this thing has to do with a teaching phrase from back in the early days of computers. A phrase which has four letters: G-I-G-O. Anyone know what that means? Garbage In, Garbage Out.

George Fuechsel, an IBM programmer, popularized this phrase in the 1960s as he taught non-technical students. What he was teaching them was that flawed input produces flawed output. And what's true about computers is also true about our minds. That's why Paul talks about this as he wraps up this section on humanity's search for peace. Look at verses 8 and 9:

Finally, brothers and sisters — in other words, in concluding what I've been telling you about living with the peace of God — whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

What is he trying to tell us? He's saying that our thoughts strongly affect our sense of peace. What we spend our time thinking about and focusing on, the images and ideas that fill our mind and heart as we scroll through media, what we do with those images and ideas as they run around unfettered in our minds and thoughts — these things matter. Especially if you're on a quest to find a sense of peace and well-being in your life. Be careful, he's telling us. Be discerning. Don't let any garbage get into your heart.

I think of my own life. Personally, I've been troubled this past while with some of the things that are happening down in the States. And I find that the more I read about it, the more I watch news about it, the more grumpy I get. If you doubt that, ask my wife. And sometimes it seems that the only way I can change things is to change that channel in my mind — to limit the amount of news that I watch about things that frustrate me, but instead to focus on things that are true and honorable, just and pure, lovely and commendable. I pray for the nation of my birth and its leaders because God's word tells me to. And it's then, as I bring these matters to God in prayer and leave them with him, that I become more aware of the presence of the God of peace in my own heart.

You know, peace is more than just the absence of conflict. It's more than just having an inner calm, an emotional balance or harmony with yourself and the world around you. The Hebrew word for peace, Shalom, is derived from a root word that signifies wholeness or completeness.

God wants more for you than merely to be able to handle the stress of life. His plan for you has always been that you would be whole and complete. Everything that God has placed you on this earth to be. A godly man or woman seeking to know your Heavenly Father better. A caring and loving individual living out God's love in the world around you as you seek to be Christ-like. A person sharing their faith with others, helping friends and family to encounter God and his love and to put their trust in him. This is what God is looking for in you — to be whole, to be complete. And this only happens when you make a choice to receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord. It's only possible when Jesus sits on the throne of your life and you are serving him.

So my question — have you made that choice to receive him as your Lord and Savior? Are you finding yourself becoming more whole, more complete in your life? Everything that Christ has for you to be. And if not yet, then why not start now? Invite Jesus into your heart and life. Seek others who can walk alongside of you in your spiritual journey, because we need others. Find purpose not just in what's going to be gone when they put you six feet under, but in things that will last and matter way past your grave.

Let's pray together. Father, here we are. We want our lives to count. Deep inside is this sense that we want something more than just to fill our lives with a lot of entertainment. Lord, we want our lives to count for eternity. We want to see them affect our neighbors, our friends, our own children, our own family. Lord, we want real peace. And I thank you for the promises that you've given us today in your word. Lord, guide us in taking up those promises and putting our faith in you. And I thank you, Father, for the fact that there is more to life than just what happens this side of the grave. And that we have the privilege of influencing the other side as well, of seeing our friends and family there with us as we seek to live faithfully for you. Thank you, Father. We love you. Amen.